Helmet or mask



F. IVI. BOWERS.

HELIVIET 0H MASK.

APPLICATION FILED 1v1/w21. 19

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M TTUHMEVS F. M. BOWERS.

HELMET OH MASK.

tII-IIIc/ITIQII FILED MAY 21, IQZI.

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HELMET UR MASK.

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To all whom it may concern lBe it kno-wn that ll, Fnnnnnicn MENGLE Bowers, a citizen of the Uni-ted States, and a resident of Chester, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and llmproved Helmet or Mask, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

'.llhe present invention relates to new and useful improvements in helmets and masks, and the construction herein disclosed is considered an improvement over that shown in lJetters Fatent of the United States, num' bered 1,135,759, granted to me April 13, 1915.

@ne of the objects of the invention is to so construct a headgear for masks that the latteris adjustable with respect to the head of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to so construct a headgear that thev same is universally adjustable in order that it may be used to support masks upon heads of various contour.

lt is a still further object of the invention to provide a new and imlproved lens-holding device in masks of this character.

With the above and other objects in view, reference is had to the'accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a mask constructed `in accordance with the present invention and showing the method of applying the same to the -head of the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the lens holder;

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of the lens holder;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. t5 isl a top plany View of a slightly modified form of'headgear.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference character designates the shield which is formed of any suitable heat-resisting material, such as fiber board,

and' said shield is cut out in its front portion yas indicatedl by the reference character 11 to form a suitable sight o ening in proper position to be in a line wit the eyes of the wearer.

The shield or mask 10 is formed from referably two pieces of liber board, there .fing one piece 10 which forms the front specification of Letters Patent.

`pplteatlcn tiled May 21,

1921. Serial No. 471,330. v

portion of the mask and is adapted to occupy 1n normal operative position a vertical plane. Secured to the upper edge of that piece 10', whlch forms the fro-nt of the mask, is a flange 11, and said flange 11' is secured to the upper edge of the piece 10 by means of rivets or the like 12'. This Joint between the two members 10 and 11 is `further strengthened by means of a covering strip or bead 13, said covering strip or bead being secured in position by means of the rivets 12 heretofore mentioned.

Secured to the shield 10 at the cut-outrpor-4 tion 1 1, is a lens support or carrier 12. his lens support or carrier 12 has a sight opening 13, and the lens support is formed with a dange 14 upon its fnont face, which Harige borders the sight opening 13. rllhe lens holder 12 is preferably rectangular in shape and is provide-dat its opposite ends with inturned Hanges 16. This lens holder is adapted to support a plurality of lenses 17, and in order to retain the lenses in position in the holder 12, a sheet metal frame 18 is employed. The frame' 18 has its ends notched to form projecting legs 19, and the' notched ends are adapted to engage beneath the flanges 16 heretofore mentioned. ln Fig. 3 of the drawings is shown a method of positioning this lens retainer, and in this figure, after the lenses have been put in, the retainer or holder is moved from the dotted line position to the full-line position 1n said figure, where it engages .the lenses at their front ends and retains them in position against the flange 14 heretofore mentioned. When the lenses are'to be removed, the retainer 18 may be grasped and moved to the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 3

Where the retainer is bodily removable after which the several lenses may be withdrawn as desired.

.4 suitable headgear for retaining the helmet in operative position is employed, and said headgear comprises a split. band 2() adapted to encircle the head, said band being split as indicated by the reference charaan lill@ linwardly and engages-the free ends of the split ring or band 20 as indicated by the reference character 25.

The reference character 26 designates a strap member and said strap member has its endsfolded backwardly upon the body portion as' indicated by the reference character 27, said ends being secured in position by means of rivets or the like 28. This strap member 26 is secured to the split band 20 and the` U-shaped member 22 upon opposite sides thereof as lindicated by the referenceL character 30, and the bent-over ends 27 of this strap member form means for pivotally securing the headgear in position vwithin the mask in the following manner: Upon opposite sides of the mask are located screws or rivets 31 and 31, and said screws or rivets form the means for pivotally mounting a rearwardly projecting bar 35, it being understood that there is one of these bars upon each side of the mask. Mounted upon opposite sides of the bar 35 are stops 36, and said stops 36 serve to limit the pivotal movement of said bar. As more clearly shown in Fig. 1, the turn-over ends 27 of the strap 26 are pivotally mounted to their respective bars 35, as indicated bythe reference character 37, in order that a double pivotal movement may be had, said double pivotal movement v being the pivotal movementrof--t-he bars B mask about their .points of pivotal connection 31 and 31', and the pivotal movement of the headgear upon the rear end of the bars 35 about the pivotal point 37.

this construction it is apparent that the may be swung upon these bent pivotal points to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, where it will rest at the back of the head of the wearer.

lIn Fig. 2 is shown a modiedform of l headgear in which the headgear is mounted by the strap 26, the turned-over ends of which are pivotally secured by bolts or rivets 31 and 31', to the opposite sides of the mask 10, and in order to increase the friction of the pivotal point, the spring 32 is interposed between the end of the bolt or rivet 31 and the bent over end of the strap 27.

4 Pivotally secured as at 40 to opposite sides of the mask are clips 41, and mounted in said clips 41, is a chin rest 42, positioned in such a manner that as the clips 41 are rocked about their pivotal point 40, the chin rest may be adjusted to the desired position to4 engage the chin of the wearer. As more clearly shown in Fig. 2, this chin rest is curved as indicated by the reference character 45 in order to conform to the shape of the chin of the wearer.

By this construction it will be seen that a new and improved forni otmask is provided and that such mask may be constructed from separate pieces 'of relatively flat material which, when the several parts are secured together, they will, by reason of the manner in which they are secured, retain the necessary position to form the mask.

rom the foregoing it is apparent that the present invention provides a new and novel headgear for masks of various kinds, which headgear owing to its method of securement to the mask permits of a movement of the mask from the position at the front of the head to a position at the rear of the head when it is not desired to use the mask.

In addition to the headgear, itis apparent that the present invention provides a new and novel form of lens holder, the use of which permits of a ready removal and replacement of the lens.

I claim:

1. A headgear for masks comprising a split band adapted to encircle the head, a U-shaped member embracing the split ends of said split band, resilient members interposed between the ends of the split band and the U-shaped member, and means for pivotally connecting said headgear within the mask.

2. A headgear for masks comprising a split band adapted to encircle the head, a U-shaped member inclosing the free ends of said split band, a plurality of resilient members interposed between the split band and the U-shaped member, a strap secured adjacent its ends to the split band, and means for pivotally mounting said headgear within the mask, said means being connected to the headgear at the ends of said strap.

3. A headgear for masks comprising a split head-encircling band, a U-shaped member encircling the split ends of said band, a spring interposed between each of the split ends of said head-encircling band, and the U-shaped member. said springs being carried by the U-shaped member, a strap extending over the head and connected adjacent its ends to the split band, and means pivotally carried by the ends of said strap for pivotally mounting the headgear within the mask.

4. A lens carrier for masks comprising a sheet metal member adapted to close the sight opening of the mask, said sheet metal membc.` being formed with aflange adjacent which the lenses are adapted to rest, and a removableresilient frame adapted to main tain said lenses in position adjacent said flange and means for removably securing Asaid frame to said mask.

5. In a lens holder a body portion formed l 

